L&K in the News

For over 35 years, Landry & King has been the “go to” industry source for trade publications and journalists reporting on incentive cruises & meetings at sea, ship charters, and group cruise events. Here are a few articles we’ve contributed to, as well as news about our company and cruise programs we’ve managed.

10 Trends to Consider When Planning a Meeting at Sea

April 13, 2018 – Smart Meetings / There really is no time like the present to do something new, something you’ve thought about for a while, such as a meeting or incentive at sea. Just as the land-based hospitality industry is enjoying strong growth, the cruise industry is also vigorous.

“It’s very exciting; there’s so much going on,” says Joyce Landry, CEO of Landry & Kling, a Miami-based incentive and meeting cruise specialist. This year, 11 ocean-going ships are coming online and, she says, 93 new ships are on order through 2027, with more to be delivered this year than any year since 2003. Read more.

Cruise Meetings Pioneer Jo Kling Retires from Landry & Kling

April 2, 2018 – Successful Meetings / If you’ve ever planned or attended a meeting at sea, you owe your good memories to Jo Kling, president and co-founder of Landry & Kling Global Cruise Events, who helped pioneer the concept of cruise meetings 35 years ago and on Friday announced her retirement from the trailblazing company that bears her name. Read more.

Royal Caribbean to take ‘Perfect Day’ experience beyond CocoCay

March 14, 2018 – Seatrade Cruise News / Joyce Landry, CEO of Landry & Kling Meetings at Sea, said Royal Caribbean has always been more forward-thinking than other cruise lines and Perfect Day Island Collection shows that in several ways. It creates new destinations to serve all the new ships being built. It will grab the attention of millennials, who want both action and relaxation. And, in areas like Asia, ‘where there are not enough ports,’ Landry said, ‘to create their own port infrastructure is very smart.’ Read more.

8 Trends to Watch in Meetings at Sea for 2018

Dec 22, 2017 – International Meetings Review / Looking to book an event at sea in 2018? With 81 new ocean ships and dozens of river vessels on order through 2026, meeting and incentive planners will have plenty of options. Landry & Kling has pulled together 8 key trends to watch: Read more

Cruise Market Update: What’s Ahead for 2018?

Winter, 2017 – ConferenceDirect Meeting Mentor / The surge in new and more diversified ships and itineraries means more options for meetings, incentives and corporate events. With growing numbers of ships to choose from, how do you identify the right one for your group? Joyce Landry, CEO of Landry & Kling, shared some tips.Read more.

Taking Your Event to Sea

Nov 3, 2017 – Meetings & Conventions / If it’s time for sea change in a traditional meeting or incentive program, holding it aboard a cruise ship can set you on a new course. Cruise vessels today are outfitted with all the amenities necessary for hosting a shipshape event: meeting space, audiovisual equipment, staging and lighting; varied F&B; entertainment; private event spaces; spas; fitness centers, and – a key consideration for groups – WiFi….Following are some considerations, courtesy of cruise-meeting specialists Landry & Kling, to help you plan a meeting afloat. Read more.

Landry & Kling propose ships for hurricane relief housing

Sept 16, 2017 – Seatrade Cruise News / Even though their Miami office was temporarily closed after Hurricane Irma, seasoned cruise ship charterers Landry & Kling have been able to assist a new client with an urgent request for hurricane-relief housing and are offering their services to help others. ‘Our research for that client found a suitable vessel, and also turned up a few other ships that could be deployed immediately,’ said Joyce Landry, CEO, Landry & Kling Global Cruise Events. Read more

Cruises Go Full Speed Ahead in Incentive Travel

May 18, 2017 – Incentive Magazine / When Joyce Landry and her partner, Jo Kling, started a business 35 years ago dedicated to planning incentive trips and meetings on cruise ships, they had no competition –largely because they had invented the niche. Back then, the founders of what was known as Landry & Kling Events at Sea had to do more than convince planners that ships were a great place for groups to assemble to do business or celebrate success. Read more

Landry & Kling are Fêted for 35 Trailblazing Years

May 17, 2017 – Seatrade Cruise News / A who’s who of the cruise industry showered congratulations and thanks on Joyce Landry and Jo Kling, trailblazers who developed cruising’s meetings and incentives business. Thirty-five years ago, when they founded Landry & Kling, the concept of corporate cruises was virtually unknown. Read more

10 Top Cruise Trends for Travel Planners to Watch

April 28, 2017 – Travel Market Report / Based on discussions with meeting planners and cruise line executives, plus the latest research from the cruise and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events) industries, Landry & Kling Global Cruise Events has identified the Top 10 Cruise Trends for Meeting Planners and Group Travel Planners to Watch – and most importantly, why you should care. Read More

Everybody’s Meeting At Sea

April 2017 – Headquarters Magazine Asia Pacific / Based in Miami, Florida, Landry & Kling Global Cruise Events is an American company that helps meeting planners source, plan, and deliver events at sea, including incentives, meetings, conferences, special interest theme cruises, groups and full ship charters. HQ talks to its co-founder Josephine Kling, a specialist in cruise meetings for more than 35 years.

“The future is unlimited because of our flexibility: we can source, plan and implement any kind of cruise event, or we can simply serve as a global broker in finding the right ship for a specific event.” Read more

Cruise Control

November 2016 – The Meeting Professional Magazine /Few in the industry know more about the evolution of cruise meetings than Jo Kling, who co-founded the cruise meetings firm Landry & Kling, Events at Sea more than 30 years ago. Among the biggestchangesshe’s seen is the way that cruise lines have come to value a business segment that was once tangential.

“When we started, many cruise lines did not have a meetings and incentives department, but now even the smallest cruise line will have one,” she says. “The ships have become much more like hotels in regards to meetings. People on staff have often come up through hotels and they are accustomed to handling the particular needs that meetings have.” Read more

NCL Awarded MICE Cruise Line Partner of the Year

Oct 18, 2016: Corporate & Incentive Travel / The inspiration for Landry & Kling’s first-ever “MICE Cruise Line Partner of the Year” award came when the company realized they had for the first time booked charters totaling 62 days in one year with all three brands of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. — Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Oceania Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line. Read more

Reporting Live from Rio aboard Norwegian Getaway…

August 8, 2016: Seatrade Cruise News / For a fascinating insider’s view of the Olympic Games from aboard the floating hotel Norwegian Getaway, check out Joyce Landry’s reports on the Landry & Kling blog. Landry is the ceo of Landry & Kling Events at Sea, the Miami-based company that brokered the charter of the Norwegian Cruise Line ship on behalf of the RIO 2016 Organizing Committee. Read more

Groups Embrace High-End Cruises

June 2, 2016: Successful Meetings / “Experiences are the new luxury,” says Jo Kling, president of Miami, FL-based cruise incentive company Landry & Kling Events at Sea… To meet the demand for a more exclusive cruise experience, several small and midsized luxury ships are on order – perfectly sized for ship charter. Read more

MICE Cruises

April 1, 2016: Global Traveler / Nearly every international cruise line, large or small, arranges full-ship charters, giving groups full control over meeting spaces, shore excursions and ports of call. Firms such as the venerable Landry & Kling specialize in setting up these ultimate meetings at sea. Read more

Top 10 Cruise Ships for Exclusive Corporate Events

Feb 15, 2016: Successful Meetings / High-end corporate meetings and incentive trips are on the rise, and more companies are looking for unique destinations, according to cruise meeting and incentive specialist Landry & Kling, which recently released its list of the “Top 10 Cruise Ships for Top-Tier Corporate Events”. Read more

Feb 1, 2016: Corporate & Incentive Travel / According to Jo Kling, president of Landry & Kling (landrykling.com) — the first travel company focused exclusively on meetings at sea and corporate charters — meeting and events on ships is a growing part of the meetings industry, and has been for many years. Read more

Cruise Ships Offer Easy Ways to Add Fun to Business Meetings

Dec 3, 2015: AP / Jo Kling, president of Landry & Kling, which specializes in managing events at sea, says cruise ships can also be cost-effective. Where a land-based venue might charge extra for table linens, floral arrangements, audiovisual equipment and the like, that’s all included on a cruise. Read more

Landry & Kling, NAHA plan fifth Rock Festival Cruise for a Cause

Oct 15, 2015: Seatrade Cruise News / Landry & Kling and the Native American Heritage Association (NAHA) announced Rock Legends Cruise V, the fifth Rock Festival Cruise for a Cause. It will sail Jan. 19-23, 2017, from Fort Lauderdale, and benefit Native Americans in need living on South Dakota reservations. Read more

Barry University Welcomes New Board of Trustee Members

Sept 25, 2015: Barry University News / Barry University announces three new appointments to its Board of Trustees – two of whom are alumni – Tanya Davis, Dr. Daniel Bird, and Joyce Landry. Landry is CEO of Landry & Kling Inc., a company that pioneered the planning of corporate events at sea. Read more

The Top 10 Ships for Top-Tier Events

Sept 11, 2015: Meetings & Conventions Blog / Whether for special events, an incentive program or just that next board meeting, a well-run cruise ship can be an ideal venue. The folds at Landry & Kling (landrykling.com), longtime cruise meeting and incentive specialists, have compiled a list of the top 10 ships afloat today for top-of-the-line corporate events. Read more.

We’ll float your boat: Joyce Landry

August, 2015, The Siteseer / “Meetings on ships are easy to arrange, cost-effective and exciting, and there are more benefits aboard than ever, says Joyce Landry (below), CEO and co-founder of cruise events specialist company Landry & Kling. The Florida-based industry pioneer talked toThe Siteseer about her business and what’s on offer.” Read more.

Incentives at Sea

May/June, 2015, Insurance & Financial Meetings Management / “One of the key reasons why cruise programs are steadily gaining awareness and popularity among planners is the ever-growing range and diversity of options, both in terms of type of ship and itinerary, ” says Jo Kling, president of Miami-based Landry & Kling, Events at Sea, the industry’s leading provider of cruise program planning services.”The offerings and itineraries vary from cruise line to cruise line and even within the same cruise line, different ships offers different experiences that can be perfectly tailored to an individual group,” Kling explains. Read more.

7 Surefire Ways to Make Your Next Meeting or Incentive Trip a Dud by Jo Kling

May 2015 / Insurance & Financial Meetings Management / Jo Kling, president of Miami-based Landry & Kling Events at Sea, fell in love with cruising on a trans-Atlantic crossing of a student ship during a college break, and has been cruising ever since. She and Joyce Landry founded the business in 1982. Their vision then and now is to make it easier for meeting professionals to use cruise ships to deliver exceptional travel experiences. The company’s only focus is cruise events, and all services necessary to yield phenomenal results and value. Their track record with full-ship charters is unparalleled. Read Jo’s article.

Cruise Lines Focus on Meetings at Sea

November, 2014, Travel Age West / “Taking people to an environment they don’t experience often or have never been to shifts their perspective altogether,” says Jo Kling, co-founder of Landry & Kling. “They’re not in a hotel ballroom, thinking: ‘Here we go again.’” Landry & Kling arranges meetings at sea for its own clients and works with travel agents who want assistance on booking onboard meetings based on a revenue sharing program. The company’s website contains numerous documents on tax implications and cost savings available to clients who book meetings at sea. Read more.

Groups at Sea Getting More and Better Technology

September 5, 2014 Prevue Magazine / Groups at sea are able to use more mobile apps and other meeting tech, with cruise lines offering improved meeting planning tools to help attendees get connected.

“As in the hotel industry, (cruise lines) try to stay current,” says Jo Kling, president of Landry & Kling, a Miami travel company specializing in cruise meetings. “That’s what people want when they travel, unless you’re on a retreat. But even smaller ships have WiFi.” Read more.

Meetings at Sea: How Cruise Programs Are Winning Over Attendees and Making life Easier for Planners

September, 2014, Corporate & Incentive Travel Magazine / Jo Kling, president of Miami, Florida-based cruise event and ship charter specialists Landry & Kling Inc., has seen a significant shift in the last year alone in corporate bookings as more planners experience the mindset…“We’re seeing more receptivity to the cruise concept,” Kling says. “Corporate incentive buyers who have been hearing for years about the exceptional experiences created during a meeting or incentive at sea — they’re finally getting it! When you pull away from shore, something shifts. Being physically separated from the shore and your normal way of life, opens you to new possibilities.” Read more.

What Does a Cruise Broker Do, Anyway?

August 1, 2014, MeetingsNet / First, let’s rephrase the question. Companies like Landry & Kling Events at Sea and others are better called cruise meetings providers or cruise event companies. The services they provide are broader than ship selection, and meetings and incentive programs are their specialty. Landry & Kling recently published an e-book titled “Shopping for a Cruise Meeting?”that you can download free. Read more.

What’s New at Sea for Meetings and Incentives

August 1, 2014, MeetingsNet / “Riverboats are booming,” says Jo Kling, CEO of Seasite.com and president of Landry & Kling Events at Sea, noting that 36 new river vessels came into service this year. “At only 100 to 150 guests, they’re so ‘charterable,’” which gives incentive programs privacy, exclusivity, and a streamlined way to include multiple destinations in one rewarding itinerary. Read more.

Fishing for MICE

April 2, 2014, Travel Weekly / “You can’t duplicate what we can offer people on a ship,” said Joyce Landry, president of Landry & Kling, a Miami agency that has long specialized in meetings and incentive cruises.

In a detailed 2009 analysis comparing a cruise with a convention hotel in Orlando, Landry & Kling found that it cost about $335,200 to host a four-day meeting for 200 people at the hotel vs. $225,000 on the ship. Read more.

Cruising Has Arrived

February 2014, Corporate & Incentive Travel Magazine, Cost Factors and Bottom-Line Value Make Meeting at Sea an Attractive Corporate Choice / “…cruising has arrived as a corporate choice,” says Jo Kling, president of Miami-based Landry & Kling Events at Sea, which specializes in helping meeting planners create cruise programs. Although cruise ships have traditionally been used more for incentive programs, Kling says, “meetings are coming on strong now. And that has been especially true since the recession.” The primary reason, Kling says is the bottom-line value. Read more.

Ships Ahoy Part 2: Private Charters vs. Group Cruises

March 3, 2013, International Meetings Review /“Full Ship Charters Deliver Exclusivity: “A charter just takes the cruise meeting experience to the next level,” according to Joyce Landry, CEO and co-founder, Landry & Kling, a MICE sector firm that specializes in creating seagoing events. Once a client signs a charter contract, “the entire ship becomes a highly customized environment where menus, entertainment and activity schedules, ports of call – everything — can be structured to fit the charterer’s preferences.” Read more.

February 26, 2013, International Meetings Review / “Increasingly, meeting planners are looking out to sea and onto global rivers in search of the best venues for corporate meetings, incentive travel, trade shows and conferences. What’s the draw? “The main benefits for the MICE sector of going the cruise-ship route are state-of-the-art facilities, value for money and the allure of traveling to multiple destinations,” believes Jo Kling, president and co-founder, Landry & Kling, a Miami-based specialist in creating events at sea. “That’s a ‘wow’ combination that’s tough to beat.” Read more.

Taking Business to the High Seas

February 6, 2013, Huffington Post / “From corporate retreats to annual meetings and the ubiquitous and amorphous themed and charted events such as Rock Legends, the floating venue offers the nuts and bolts that make a meeting not only functional, but also fascinating … to keep attendees excited, invested and intrigued. Founder and President of Landry & Kling – Jo Kling a leading expert in the dynamics of floating meetings/meeting planning believes…” Read more.

Sea Change

October, 2012, Air Macau | Businesses in Asia are jumping on board a trend towards holding MICE functions on cruise ships rather than at traditional venues on terra firma “According to Jo Kling, President and co-founder of Landry & Kling, a Miami-based specialist in events at sea, the main benefits for the MICE sector of going the cruise ship route are ‘state-of-the-art facilicities, value for money and the allure of traveling to multiple destinations.’ It’s a combination that’s hard to beat.” Read more

Three Keys to a Winning Attitude for a Service Business

October 24, 2012, Forbes.com | “If you create value for your customer primarily through service or support, you must be responsive and flexible. Corporate cruise pioneers Joyce Landry and Josephine Kling get that, do that, and live that belief….Landry and Kling’s big, overriding innovations have been around positioning cruise ships as venues for corporate events.” Read more

Survey: Cruise Incentives Motivate Employees

October 8, 2012, Successful Meetings | “If they want to motivate people, managers, meeting planners and incentive specialists should consider cruises for employee rewards and group outings, concludes a recent poll by cruise meetings specialist Landry & Kling Inc., the results of which were released last month.” Read more

Meet at Sea

September 2012, Smart Meetings | “What people are looking for in conferences today is really coming away with new relationships,” says Josephine Kling, president of Landry & Kling, a program management service for cruise groups. “You want relationships; you want a sense of community. You want entertainment, new ideas and a sense of having connected with people so that when you get home you have contacts you can follow up with and new experiences that you’ve had. Cruise opportunities provide that in spades beyond what a normal resort experience offers.” Read more

Cruise Ships for Meetings

May 2012, Successful Meetings | “Meetings at sea are an economical and exciting alternative to rotate with traditional land-based meetings,” says Jo Kling, president of Landry & Kling. “Cruise meetings can offer savings of up to 40 percent compared to a hotel…” “All of the ships on this list boast superior service, state-of-the-art function space, and onboard features like private group dining.” Read more

Small Business of the Day: Landry & Kling Cruise Events at Sea

May 8, 2012, FOXBusiness.com | FOXBusiness is highlighting small businesses from around the country as nominated by their readers. “Biggest lesson learned: Kling emphasizes the importance of listening to customers as being top priority. “With so much of business done over the phone and email, you have to make sure you playback everything because it’s very easy to have different interpretations of what is wanted. The biggest compliment is being told ‘you’re really on my wavelength.’ It’s our job to make their vision of a great event happen.” Read more

Theme Cruising Gains Popularity

April 2012, TravelAgeWest | “The theme cruise trend is growing rapidly according to Jo Kling, president of Landry & Kling and an expert on events and special-interest cruises at sea.” “Coupled with heightened awareness about the cruise experience and more clients adding cruises to their bucket lists, the timing to capitalize on this trend has never been better,” said Kling.” Read more

Rocking the Boat on the Legends Cruise

November 12, 2011,FoxNews.com | “For me, life doesn’t get any better than last week’s Rock Legends Cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas –an amazing lineup of 21 bands performing day and night. It was like Woodstock at sea; four days of peace, love and rock ‘n’ roll.” “With that many artists I needed to sell a lot of tickets, so Liberty made the most sense,” she said, but Pam [Myers] was taking a highly calculated risk aided by Landry and Kling, one of the best cruise event planners in the business. Their job is to take people like Myers, analyze their needs, run the numbers, and coordinate with the cruise lines. After determining and getting the best ship, their ongoing services include planning show schedules, mealtimes, menus, port stops and the designs of everything from web sites to the daily programs onboard and even the cocktail napkins.” Read More

We Rocked the Boat

November 8, 2011,CruiseMates Newsletter | “It all started with an idea by Pam Myers, vice president and treasurer of NAHA, who had a vision for a benefit concert for her 4-star rated charity organization. She found 20 famous bands willing to play for her cause (the bands were compensated for their participation) but she had no idea how to organize a concert of that scope.” “Someone suggested doing it on a cruise and luckily Pam found Landry and Kling, a company that specializes in helping people plan special events on cruise ships. Pam says ‘Landry & Kling provided us with invaluable guidance. While others told us our vision was too big, Landry & Kling helped us through each challenge to launch this outrageous fundraiser festival — at sea.” Read more

Religious Meetings Ride the Wave

November 2011,MeetingsFocus Mid-America | “Planners of religious meetings at sea say ships offer the enticing advantage of having everything they need in one package—facilities, meals, entertainment and changing locations at interesting ports of call. There are also added benefits of time and cost savings­—the price can come in up to 40 percent less in some cases, according to Jo Kling, president of Miami’s Landry & Kling Cruise Events—over traditional hotel and other land-based meetings.” Read More

Taking the Guesswork Out of Planning a Cruise-based Meeting

October 2011, Meeting Focus Blog | “Meeting planners must be able to successfully juggle multiple responsibilities and keep track of all the details – little and big. Major meeting bumps can arise when even the tiniest detail falls through the crack. Having a system in place that lets you track various aspects of your meeting – from event registration to floor plans – is the best way to manage details and avoid unforeseen meeting snafus. ” Read More

Business Incentives | Cash isn’t Always King

October 2011, Meeting Focus Blog | “With organizations grappling with the challenge of doing more with less, planners must be able to justify proposed motivational programs and demonstrate ROI. Now, meeting planners have more ammunition when it comes to proposing non-cash prizes and trips for incentives. Recent industry reports indicated that “tangible incentives” – incentives that carry monetary value but are non-cash in nature such as merchandise – are more attractive to employees.” Read More

The ‘New’ Cruise Meeting

October 2011, Successful Meetings | ‘It was a really balanced event, with a lot of meeting content, camaraderie, and time off the ship,’ says Landry, adding that ‘people had time to share ideas because they were together more than they would have been had they done a land program.’ But planners needn’t fear that a meeting on a ship means trapped executives—there is more flexibility to accommodate scheduling conflicts than planners might expect, according to Landry. ‘In the old days—maybe 15 years ago—we had to encourage people to tailor the meeting to the ship, but not anymore,’ says Landry. ‘There is real meeting space now; you’re not meeting in a coffee shop or something.’” Read More

Cruise Meetings Get an Upgrade

September 2011, Successful Meetings | “Landry often sits down with clients and goes over their program budgets from earlier years line by line, pointing out how they could save by doing a cruise program. Those planning international incentives would do well to remember that the U.S. dollar is king onboard. ‘There’s no fluctuation in exchange rates to worry about,’ says Landry, based in Coral Gables, FL. ‘Your costs won’t change, even if you’re planning two years out.’” Read More

Cruise Incentives 101

September 2011,Incentive Magazine | “Incentive programs have been coming back, and shipboard programs are no exception. ‘We’ve seen an increase in both serious inquiries and business,’ says Joyce Landry, CEO of Landry & Kling, a facilitator of cruise meetings and events. The good news for planners considering the high seas is that a cruise incentive program often can be comparable to a luxury resort program and cost less. Line-item hassles like audiovisual equipment rentals, venue staging, third-party video production, catered meeting breaks, and child care don’t come into play on a ship, since they’re included in the package.” Read More

Don’t Miss the Boat | Cruise Your Way to Incentive Success

September 2011, Smart Meetings Magazine | “Lance Wieland, then an independent meeting planner, had long resisted the idea of a cruise. Then he needed a fresh, unique idea for a high-end incentive program for a group of 200 top insurance sales executives from around the world. Working with Landry & Kling, a well-regarded cruise specialist, he chartered the Seabourn Spirit for a five-night cruise from Athens to Istanbul. “It was the most incredible experience, and the highest-rated program we’ve ever run…It was an education about what cruising could do for us,” Wieland says. Read More

May / June 2011,Insurance & Financial Meetings Management | “Landry says planners who have had to scale back during the recession are looking for ways to deliver the traditional wow factor for less. “ ‘But when you do a cruise, you can give attendees that feeling of pre-recession abundance again. You can make them feel pampered again because there’s no scrimping going on. On a ship, you can give attendees a great experience. And you can do it at a lower cost.” Read more

Cruises: Not Just for Vacation

April 2011, FOXBusiness | “When a destination doesn’t have enough hotel rooms for a special event, cruise ships can play a vital role. For instance, when President Obama attended the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad in April 2009, cruise ships, serving as temporary hotels for the media and diplomats, could be seen in the background of reporters covering the story. And when Jacksonville, Fla., approached the NFL about hosting Superbowl XXXIX, it brought in five cruise ships to meet the requirement of providing a minimum number of hotel rooms close to the stadium. In both cases, Landry and Kling, one of the country’s leading cruise ship charter consultants made the arrangements to bring in the ships.”

Cruise lines see market growing for incentives and meetings

April 18, 2011,Travel Weekly Magazine | “Kling, whose firm will mark 30 years in the business in 2012, said corporations and companies with incentive programs are continuing to minimize expenses by finding ways to get the most bang for their buck. ‘The budgets for meetings and incentives are there,’ Kling said. ‘But with cruising, many businesses are just now seeing the advantages that a cruise ship offers. Activities, entertainment, sports events and food are all included, for example, and we’re seeing land resorts that are now trying to mimic what the cruise lines have had all along.’” Read more

Cruise Lines Get a Boost From Increased Meetings Business

March / April 2011,Insurance & Financial Meetings Management | “Jo Kling, president of Landry & Kling, the Miami-based cruise event specialist company that will mark its 30th anniversary next year, says the upturn is almost double over last year… ”

High Seas Meetings & Incentives

March 2011,Corporate & Incentive Travel Magazine | “Corporate and incentive cruise event services company Landry & Kling put together a 42-person sales meeting/ incentive program for the Brunswick Corporation, which is headquartered near Chicago. The Lake Forest, IL-based recreational products company is well-known for its bowling, billiards, fitness and marine products, including Mercury Marine… Explains Filip Pawelka, a marketing manager for Brunswick, ‘One of the main deciding factors was also the overall cost of such a meeting on a cruise ship,’ Pawelka says. ‘When compared to previous meetings we conducted in several locations around the world, the cost was comparable or even below…’”

Hold your business meetings on the lido deck

February 2011,The Globe and Mail | “Immersing executives in exotic ports of call is inspirational and contributes to team-building, adds Landry, who once bused 800 conference attendees to Catherine Palace near St. Petersburg to dine on caviar. ‘You’re going from place to historic, beautiful place; everything is prearranged, safe; no one has to put their hand in their pocket to pay for anything, so there’s a sense of letting go and being free,’ she says. ‘It beats the hotel convention centre’s rubber-chicken dinner every time.’” Read more

Cruising Alaska

February 2010,Meetings Focus Magazine | “Alaska is a tremendous value right now—you can negotiate much better than in the past,” says Joyce Landry, CEO of Landry & Kling Cruise Event Services, a Miami-based company that specializes in cruise meetings. “I recommend taking advantage of the situation because you are not likely to see these prices again. Alaska has a very limited season, so lines traditionally demand top rates in that market.”

Set Sail

September 2010, Smart Meetings Magazine | “As cruise ships have changed, so has the understanding and recognition of what you can do with the ship. It is like going to a hotel, but the hotel is moving,” Kling says. Read More

The Cruising Difference, Setting a New High-Water Mark

August 2010, Corporate & Incentive Travel Magazine | “Planners are thinking that they are not going to be able to do their norm

al event, and that’s true — that’s why it is so successful,” affirmed Josephine Kling. “You don’t do the same thing in the same way on a ship that you do in a hotel, and it’s that difference that excites you. What brings forth innovative thinking is not having people in the same old, same old environment.”

July, 2010,Meetings South | “When you look at the budget challenges facing meeting planners today, it’s the perfet time for people to consier cruising,” says Josephine Kling, CEO of Seasite.com and co-founder of Miami-bases Landry & Kling Cruise Event Services. “We can prove that in any category of ship relative to hotel, you can save up to 30 to 40 percent by choosing a cruise over a hotel program.”

A “Floatel” Can Help When You’re Short on Hotel Rooms

June 2010, Meetingsnet.com | “If a destination were to build enough hotels to accommodate a large event, it would overload their infrastructure and would be unsustainable after the event,” Landry says. “Hotels support the idea of floating hotels because it doesn’t crash their rates going forward.” And for meeting planners, she adds, “this opens their eyes to new possibilities. They can meet in a place they wouldn’t necessarily have thought of. It’s instant infrastructure.”

Carnival Present’s Pinnacle Award to Landry & Kling

February 2008, Travel Trade | “Landry & Kling Cruise Event Services, a cruise-only meeting and incentive travel agency based in Coral Gables, FL, has been inducted into Carnival Cruise Lines’ ‘Pinnacle Club.’ Landry & Kling, which was one of Carnival’s top 10 group producers, was presented with a highly detailed replica of a Carnival ‘Fun Ship,’ and joins an elite group of agencies who meet a certain sales criteria and exhibit excellence in promoting and selling the ‘Fun Ship’ cruise experience.”

Using Five Cruise Ships as Super Bowl Hotels

March 2005, Meetings & Conventions Magazine|Once Jacksonville won the chance to host the big game, it was up to Landry & Kling to attend to all the details of arranging for the ships.

The Top 10 Women Incentive Leaders

May 2006, Incentive Magazine | “The good news is that this disparity seems to be less pronounced in the incentive industry than in many others. Women are well represented in top positions at many incentive houses, destination management companies and industry associations, and they are gaining ground in the traditionally male-dominated special markets divisions of manufacturers. The 10 women profiled below are among the best and brightest minds working in the performance field today.” Read more part 1: OverviewRead more Part 2: Landry & Kling profile

Cruise and Schmooze

May 2006, New York Times |“Companies have traditionally favored hotels and resorts when they wanted to reward top-performing sales representatives, giving them vacations in sunny places like Arizona, Florida and Hawaii, with golf, tennis and water sports among the allures. But for the last decade, the cruise industry has been campaigning hard for some of that business and has been winning corporate converts. Industry officials contend that cruises are less expensive than comparable resorts because the cabins, conference rooms, meals and entertainment are all included in the price. In addition, some of the smaller ships afford companies privacy and networking opportunities that they may not get on land. ”Companies want to share sales figures and product plans with the team they’ve brought on board,” said Joyce Landry, head of Landry & Kling” Read more

Poker Nuts… Come Aboard

January 2005,New York Times | “Mr. Ward also suggested contacting agencies like Landry & Kling…which specialize in organizing interest-group cruises.” Read more